In this book, Fr. Michael Courey explores the synthesis of meditation on the Holy Scriptures in combination with illustrations inspired by the call to seek the face of Christ in the spirit of repentance. (Psalm 27:7-9) His artwork is accompanied with Bible passages based on the seven days of Holy Week of Eastern Orthodoxy, followed by contemplations rooted in the Jesus Prayer tradition.  On the cover, the Holy Virgin Mary is depicted embracing her Son wrapped in strips of linen (John 19:40) before His burial.  She is grieving, not only for her loss, but also for the sins of fallen humanity, for which Jesus suffered and was buried. 

Penthos in the Eastern Orthodox tradition is the sense of heartfelt grief.  Accompanied with tears flowing from a humble and contrite spirit, penthos is an experience of remorse and sorrow for sin.  Jesus taught that those who mourn (penthoutes) are blessed, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4).  Penthos & Passion leads the reader on the path of the authors’ prayer journey from the spirit of sorrow for sin to the comfort of joy in the knowledge of the mercy of Jesus Christ.  This journey follows the passion of Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection followed by prayers for the release of the penitent’s personal sinful passions that built a wall of separation from God.

This wall is broken by prayer in contemplation of the power of the Name of Jesus, the “name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11 - NKJV)